Gene Ethics pleads case for official register of GM sites

Gene Ethics has disputed claims by the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) that they exhibited a lack of ethics when publishing the suspected sites of GM crop farming in Victoria.

Gene Ethics published a map of commercial Genetically Modified (GM) canola sites on their website on Tuesday in response to their concern about GM-crops.

“Gene Ethics presents its online map of commercial GM canola sites being grown this winter as a service to the Victorian public,” claimed Bob Phelps, Gene Ethics Director. “Our map helps fill the information vacuum created when Premier Brumby lifted Victoria’s 5 year GM canola ban and refused to set up an official register, worsening the threat of GM contamination.”

GM-canola was allowed to be grown in Australia for the first time this year in the states of NSW and Victoria on the back of advice from a panel led by Sir Gustav Nossal. The ban was lifted in the belief that it would provide an economic benefit, require less pesticides and increase the potential for more drought-resistant crops. The critics argue that they could pose health and environmental risks.

“Affected groups that asked for a register of GM canola sites included GM-free growers, bee keepers, contract harvesters, organic growers, seed cleaners, local councils, the Municipal Association of Victoria, the Victorian Local Governance Association, and food processors, ” Mr Phelps reported. “The online map shows farms where the news media have reported that Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide tolerant GM canola is being grown or is intended for planting. The data is from: news reports that confirm some farmers planted GM canola seed this winter; and various reports that other farmers intended to grow GM canola.”

The debate over GM-crops continues to polarise opinion and has led to wide-ranging policy decisions from governments around the world. In the UK for instance, a public register has been set-up to show the locations of all GM-crop sites. This has caused concern among some GM-crop farmers and researchers as there has been a spate of vandalism at the sites. UK researchers called for the adoption of the Canadian system a few weeks ago, whereby small GM-trials would be exempt from being added to the public register.

The Victorian Farmers Federation has since highlighted their concern that vandalism may occur in Victoria due to the public broadcast of suspected sites. “The farmers and their families named on the Gene Ethics website may very well fear what these new actions may entail now that their names and locations have been listed publicly,” VFF President Simon Ramsay suggested earlier this week.

Gene Ethics now advise that they are working towards publishing a map of NSW GM-canola sites and increasing the data on their Victorian map. “Gene Ethics expects to receive more site data to add to the map if GM farmers comply with Monsanto’s Stewardship Agreement that advises them to tell their neighbours,” Mr Phelps added. “The Gene Technology Regulator publishes maps and co-ordinates for field trials throughout Australia so a similar register for commercial GM crops is practical as well as necessary.”

“Rural industries and land managers are worried by GM seed falling on roadsides during transport and pollen carried 5 km by wind and insects leading to market loss and more persistent Roundup herbicide tolerant weeds – wild radish and turnip,” Mr Phelps said.

Australian Food News would welcome your opinions on the topic of GM-crops. Are they a solution or a threat? And should a public register of GM sites be published?

7 thoughts on “Gene Ethics pleads case for official register of GM sites”

What a great initiative of Mr Bob Phelps and the Gene Ethics Network to publish locations of GM crops in Victoria. I now await the NSW location guide. Monsanto and the biotechnology industry have had the green light from governments for years. Now it’s time to redress the situation and give the majority of consumers – that is those who reject GM food – the information they need about what is happening in their own country, and the foods to avoid, leading to the eventual demise in Australia of this aberration of science.

Richard Hindmarsh, Senior Lecturer at the Griffith School of Environment, has written an excellent book, titled “Edging Towards BioUtopia,” that needs to be read by everyone concerned about GM crops. His basic thesis is that even though the early geneticists discussed their concerns about genetic modification of living organisms more than 20 years ago, they simply used those statements as a cover for going full speed ahead with their research, and quickly found allies in industry and government to help them. Thus they got the support of governments worldwide to only appear to be democratic in their public notifications, and basically ignore strong public aversion to GM foods.
Now we find ourselves in a public backlash, demonstrated by Gene Ethics and other such groups, and individuals. The public is waking up to the fact that it is being used as guinea pigs in a grand experiment that nobody knows the outcome, and the farmers who chose to go along with the agricorporations agenda will have to suffer the consequences.

GM crops are not a solution to anything except perhaps multi-national companies making a lot of money out of naive farmers. Too much evidence is out there for the public to read to confirm there will be grave risks to Australia’s food supply if GM is allowed to take over. Cross pollination has been a major problem in other countries – and yet it is glossed over here in Australia, by the pro GM lobby, as being no real threat. If I want to sell my produce as Non-GM it is up to me (under Australian law) to prove it is – more expense for me, no expense for the GM farmers. If my paddock is contaminated with GM I can be sued by the GM companies for growing their crops without their approval. How is this fair? I am very concerned about the prospect of consuming GM food. I have not read of any independent scientific research into human consumption of GM food – why not?

We do need a register of GM sites in Australia. Those farmers who have said they are prepared to grow GM should surely be proud enough to stand up for their convictions – after all they are 100% sure, so they say, it is the right way to go and that it is safe for all to grow it. With a register, these farmers can prove it to the world, by making a public statement, that they are growing GM crops. These same farmers should be pushing for our labelling laws to be truthful – when any GM is in a product (or in animal food) then it should be labelled as such. This way the proud GM farmers and the savvy anti-GM public will both be served honestly. We can all make an informed choice and vote with our purses!

i havde just read the news article from Prince Charles, and i openly and honestly agree with what he has said. if we dont take responsibility for the food thst we put into our bodies then we are running the risk of higher incidences of cancer manyfold. is it worth it. i think NOT.

There is no doubt there should be an official register of GM sites and complete GM food labelling as a bare minimum. The Federal, NSW and Vic governments have created this mess by doing exactly what Monsanto and the GM industry want them to do, which is to keep everything shrouded in secrecy.
These governments have given so-called “choice” to a few GM farmers at the expense of the vast majority of farmers and consumers who don’t want GM and who soon will not have a choice because of contamination and incomplete labelling, which is exactly what has occurred in North America.

Well done Gene Ethics for defending the economic interests of beekeepers, grain harvesters, farmers and growers of GM-Free crops, local government, and responsibly filling the void where the State Government has (yet again) let down the Victorian public.

GM Crops are a threat to the majority of farmers and agricultural industries whose markets depend on freedom from GM inputs or even a guaranteed maximum of GM inputs (such as dairy farmers).

There is no way to prevent cross-pollination and the emergence of roundup-resistant weeds, either unwanted GM canola or brassica weeds it has crossed with.

The State Government has done nothing to help non-GM growers – making it impossible for them to comply with co-existence protocols in the 2008 season. They’ve done nothing to help growers who want to market as non-GM or producers who need GM-Free feed. They’ve catered to a tiny minority and placed all the costs and the problems onto the majority – the non-GM growers.

Now even the Premier says he has no intention of growing GM Canola!

If GM Canola such a great product, why do growers feel they have to hide their heads?

Fact 1: GE crops WILL contaminate conventional crops.
Fact 2: Common sense and a fair go departed with the arrival of GE crops.

Life, as we knew it, in our ‘Good Old Democracy’ meant that if anybody caused damage to another person or their property they would then be liable for the cost of that damage and measures would then be enforced to prevent recurring damage.

Life under the new ‘GE, Biotech Mob with our Government in their Back Pockets Democracy’ means that Farmer Joe is permitted, by the government, to cultivate a secret crop of GE plants and inflict considerable damage on Farmer Brown’s property by contaminating his crop, rendering it unsaleable. As if this isn’t bad enough, the owner of the patent on Farmer Joe’s seed will then add insult to injury by suing Farmer Brown for breach of intellectual property rights. A plea of ignorance of the contaminating crop is no defence and Farmer Brown will have to pay tens of thousands of dollars in damages, if not his entire farm, to the company for the damage they caused to his crop.

We, the mere consumers for whom all these crops are grown, do not wish to eat from Farmer Joe’s crop as we prefer not to be guinea pigs for the GE seed company. However, under this new ‘GE, Biotech Mob with our Government in their Back Pockets Democracy’ manufacturers are permitted by the government to keep us in the dark. I, like many others, am not convinced by the vague assurances of the safety of GM food. Our own FSANZ have stated that they mostly rely on the seed companies’ info when assessing safety. We already know that the suppression of information has landed them in court more than once so.. not good enough! I’m tired of hearing that labeling amendments will hit us in the pocket. If GE food is labeled ‘GE Food’ we won’t buy it so we don’t care if it costs more. Let the biotech companies put their money where their mouth is and pay the cost of advertising their own miracle food. If their claims are true you’d think they’d want it labeled. I mean, who ever heard of a company that purports to have invented a new improved, nutritious superfood that will save the world and then goes to extreme lengths to conceal any evidence of it in any product? I always thought if you wanted to sell something you advertised it unless, of course, you were worried about possible litigation due to the adverse side effects of your wonder product. Well, I have to say..I smell a rat and I agree completely with Dianne Davie. Good on you, Gene Ethics, I too await the publication of GE crop locations in NSW and fervently pray for the return of common sense & transparency (is this really Australia?) to this whole GE controversy as the only thing becoming increasingly transparent to date is the level of kowtowing to the seed Gods which is exactly what they will be if we allow them to patent everything we eat.